Doctors and Medical Practitioners: Australia Medical Council (AMC)

If you intend to apply for migration to Australia under one of the General Skilled Migration categories, you must have a nominated occupation which is on the Skilled Occupations List at the time you apply. In order to make a valid application, you must have obtained a skills assessment from the relevant assessing authority for your nominated occupation.

The number of points for skill allocated for the occupation of 'Medical Practitioner' in the points test is 60. All applications are priority processed.

Skills Assessment Process

If your nominated occupation is medical practitioner, you must make application to the Medical Board in the State or Territory in which you intend to practise for full (unconditional) medical registration. Once you have been registered to practise unconditionally as a medical practitioner you do not need to make application to a State or Territory Medical Board for a skills assessment, as evidence of full registration in the relevant State or Territory itself constitutes a skills assessment.

You must obtain evidence of full medical registration in order to lodge a valid application for migration under the General Skilled Migration program.

Generalist Registration

An applicant whose basic medical qualifications are not recognised by the relevant State or Territory Medical Board must meet the Australian Medical Council (AMC) requirements for recognition. This process entails a multiple choice question examination and a clinical examination administered by the AMC. Once the AMC has advised you that your skills have been assessed as equivalent to your Australian trained counterpart, you must then apply to the relevant State or Territory Medical Board for full registration or, in other words, an entitlement to practise without restriction.

Specialist Registration

Overseas-trained specialists must apply through the AMC to have their specialist skills assessed by the relevant specialist medical college in Australia. The purpose of specialist assessment is to determine the equivalence of training and qualifications of overseas trained specialists with Australian trained specialists. If the relevant college assesses you as competent to practise in Australia, you are eligible to apply for registration within the designated field for specialist practice.

Evidence of Full Registration

The Department will accept the following as evidence of unconditional registration:

Evidence of certificates issued by the State/Territory Medical Board (showing full medical board registration); and

Either:

An AMC certificate (showing that you have passed the necessary examinations entitling you to unconditional registration); or

Full fellowship of the Royal Australia College of General Practitioners (RACGP) or relevant specialist college.